In Berlin and Rostock, the preparations for the longed-for return of fans to the stadiums are in full swing - and a large part of the football industry is excited.

The fact that the ball is rolling in front of spectators for the first time in a long time at the season finale this weekend is seen in many places as a hopeful sign that the so-called ghost games in the Corona crisis will soon end.

Even at the European Championship in summer, the DFB selection will be able to count on the support of the fans for their games in Munich. In the 2021/22 season, this should then be back to normal for the clubs. “I am definitely counting on fans in the stadium in the coming season. The only question is how many are allowed to come, ”said Borussia Dortmund's managing director Hans-Joachim Watzke to the newspapers of the Funke media group. “30 percent of people have been vaccinated once, they will also have the second vaccination by then. You can no longer deny these people everything. You then have to be able to experience normality again, ”emphasized the BVB boss.

There will be a first foretaste of it on Saturday, when football recaptures a small piece of this almost forgotten normalcy.

The last time the game was played in a sold-out stadium was on March 8, 2020.

75,000 spectators followed Bayern's 2-0 win against FC Augsburg in Munich.

2000 in Berlin, 7500 in Rostock

Then came the corona and with the pandemic the dreariness, which was only briefly interrupted in the beginning phase of this season at some locations.

Since October 25 of the previous year, when 4519 fans attended the match between VfL Wolfsburg and Arminia Bielefeld, the stands in the Bundesliga stadiums have remained empty without exception.

In Rostock, 702 fans were allowed into the stadium in March.

With the official approval of 2,000 spectators for the game between 1. FC Union Berlin and RB Leipzig this Saturday (3.30 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Bundesliga and Sky) and even 7500 fans for the third division game between FC Hansa Rostock and VfB Lübeck the first glimmer of hope. The prerequisite for this are persistently low incidence values ​​below a value of 100. "We have received a very, very high level of trust," said Rostock's CEO Robert Marien on Tuesday, praising the state government's decision.

Germany is following the example of other big football nations such as England or Spain, where games were held in front of an audience for the first time last weekend.

The atmosphere, which is as unfamiliar as it is missing, should inspire professionals in their work.

"Overall, that is very important for football and very nice," said Union captain Christopher Trimmel.

“It's huge that there are fans in the stadium again.

That can also be an advantage. "

But not everywhere in the country cannot or will not seize the unexpected opportunity immediately.

In Munich, Dortmund, Frankfurt or Cologne, the stadium gates are still closed due to the high incidence values ​​in the season finale.

At Holstein Kiel, too, the ranks remain empty.

The second division voluntarily waived an application for admission of spectators for the home game against Darmstadt 98, in which the table runner-up can at least make the first Bundesliga promotion perfect.

“Neither should professional football claim a special role for itself in society.

The KSV Holstein would like to experience preferential treatment over other sports clubs in the state, ”said Kiel's President Steffen Schneekloth, justifying the waiver.

At other clubs, however, the occasional return of fans at Pentecost immediately sparked the imagination.

For example, the second division club VfL Osnabrück, threatened with relegation, is already offering its supporters tickets for a so-called "finally back game" with officially approved full occupancy at the Bremer Brücke after the end of the Corona crisis - regardless of date, opponent and league affiliation.